How about an excellent appetizer and 2 glasses of house wine for $10? Go to Cafe Rio – in my opinion the best overall restaurant in Aptos. I was there tonight and had their mussels. Could not have been better. Then take a walk on the beach right in front. Beautiful evening.
Father designs Internet game in memory of daughter
By John Sammon
Posted: 04/26/2009
APTOS – Dave Wardle, in struggling to come to grips with the loss of a beloved daughter to a rare cancer-like disease, thought he could best serve her memory by designing a free online computer game that would spread awareness of hystocytosis and raise money to fight it.
“Sofia passed away six months ago,” Wardle said. “This is a rare disease, with 1,500 cases a year reported in the U.S. It’s like cancer, and it’s a blood-born illness produced in the bone marrow.”
“Wardle, 39, a computer programmer originally from England, moved to Aptos after meeting his wife Rebecca in 1992.
Doctors first diagnosed Sofia’s illness as leukemia. It would later appear to be in remission, but instead develop into histiocytosis.
“It started on the skin,” Wardle recalled. “Sofia developed these huge lesions, and they were very painful. She had them on her feet and couldn’t walk around.”
“Up until then, she had been a normal first-grader, a loving child who embraced life, a big sister and friend to her classmates at Rio del Mar Elementary School. A curly-headed child, she played the usual games, dress-up, stickers, music and dancing. She could hip-hop dance, too.
“But that ideal world shattered. “Just before Christmas of 2003, Sofia developed a fever, and her stomach was distended and firm to the touch,” Wardle said. “We took her to the doctor and were immediately sent to Dominican Hospital for blood tests. That was the beginning of our ordeal.”
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“Only 2 years old, she was one of the youngest patients at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in Palo Alto. She would be ill for five years.
“The disease progressed slowly, and during the treatments there seemed to be successes. “It was a rollercoaster for us,” Wardle said. “At one point in 2008, the skin symptoms were getting better, or they seemed to be. But the disease was attacking other parts of her body.”
“The parents had insurance. However, the medical bills ran into the thousands of dollars as the child had to undergo an agonizing round of treatments, including chemotherapy and radiation. Though the pain at times was enough for her to cry out, her father said she bore it with courage and determination. She wanted to get dressed up for school, and go back and be with her classmates. Toward the end of her life, she was planning to become a singer, and had an iPod filled with her favorites: Hannah Montana, Hilary Duff and music from the theatre production, High School Musical.
“It’s amazing how much courage she had, and with good humor,” Wardle said of his daughter. “She taught us the meaning of bravery.”
Sofia was 7 at the time of her death. Her parents have a son Quinn, 5.
Wardle said the loss of his daughter was a blow that had him searching for a way to not only remember her, but to do something to try to find a cure for the disease so future children would not have to experience it. “I had to take an extended sabbatical from work,” he said.
Wardle called being Sofia’s father both a blessing and a tragedy, a struggle full of love and heartache. But, he noted, his daughter will always be an inspiration for him.
He created a Web site in Sofia’s memory called “Sofia Maze.”
An interactive challenge, the game involves helping Sofia navigate a multi-stage picture maze, from her home in Aptos, to the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. The game combines beautiful images, with jokes, visual humor and whimsical distractions.
“Low-tech gaming can be just as compelling as the latest offering from Sony or Nintendo,” Wardle said.
The game created by Sofia and her dad went live Friday. The site will promote sponsorships and raise funding through donations to fight histiocytosis, the money going to the Histiocytosis Association of America and Jacob’s Heart Children’s Cancer Support Services.
People wishing to donate to fight histiocytosis can call Sofia’s father at (831) 332-1021 or visit sofiamaze.com Sofia’s Maze.
Sting nets large meth bust in Aptos
Modified: Saturday, Apr 25th, 2009
BY: PETER SEGALL
Photos courtesy of the Santa Cruz Police Department
“More than three pounds of methamphetamine and a stolen handgun were seized and three suspects were arrested by members of the Santa Cruz Police Department in a joint gang/drug sting in Aptos on Wednesday.
German Escobar arrested in Aptos
Steve Clark of the Santa Cruz Police Department said this was a “significant amount” of the drug and that someone capable of obtaining this quantity was most likely “well-established in the network.”
The arrests were made after members of SCPD’s Street Crimes Unit worked in collaboration with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit to purchase the drugs in Aptos from men identified as members of the Mara Salvatrucha “MS-13” street gang, according to a press release from SCPD.
The drugs were estimated at a wholesale value of $42,000. When sold on the street, police estimate that amount could double. Local law enforcement has taken notice of the increasing amount of gangs using drug trafficking as a means of support. A seizure of this size represents to officers that individuals are dealing in large quantities.
The three suspects, Pedro Escobar, 22, German Escobar, 23, and Jose Callejas-Alfaro, 29, all Santa Cruz residents, were each charged with possession of methamphetamine for sale, conspiracy to commit a crime, and gang enhancements, police said. German Escobar and Callejas-Alfaro were also charged with resisting arrest. German Escobar was additionally charged with possession of a stolen, loaded handgun, which he tried to discard while attempting to flee, police said. The handgun was reported stolen out of Wilkesboro, N.C.
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For the complete article see the 04-25-2009 issue.
PG&E cuts cyprus tree, Aptos
ugly brambles Aptos,CA 2012
This spot in Aptos, California on Kingsbury Drive gets the UGLY award.
To the left of the picture was a lookout spot to see Monterey Bay. Now it is ALL brambles.
Update for March, 2012: You can see the KEEP OUT sign in the picture. Public access impossible as still all brambles.
POSTS from www.freedomOK.net aka Monterey Bay Forum also appear on Dr. Cameron Jackson’s Twitter.
Troubled by recent government spending?
Join other Aptos residents to pressure local Santa Cruz County government to cut recent HUGE increases in top county salaries. See recent letters to Santa Cruz Sentinel, April 8, 2009.
Of course administrators such as the CEO for County of Santa Cruz has her hand out for more money. You can’t blame people for asking. You can blame those who gave the huge increases. That’s the Board of Supervisors.
Contact Cameron Jackson at cameronjacks@gmail.com for information. Join Facebook and get your friends to add their two cents.
Look for APTOS SLASHER on Facebook. That is Cameron Jackson on Facebook. Together let’s SLASH those HUGE, wasteful increases! Let’s start our Aptos Tea Party opposed to huge increases in gevernment spending. Cameorn Jackson 831 688-6002
No Aptos, CA smart lawyer would do this!
Get this. A San Francisco attorney changed his vote while serving on a jury because:
1) his wife told him to do so;
2) he went out and looked at the scene of events and thus knew more;
3) to return to work.
Answer: Number three. The lawyer simply wanted to go back to work.
In a possibly unprecedented case, a San Francisco lawyer faces disbarment because he changed his vote to break the deadlock in order to return to work.
This is frm California Bar Journal, April 2009. And what do you think of that?? There is “stupid is” and “stupid does”. This is an example of “stupid does”. And maybe also is “stupid is”.
Know where the best gas station is in Aptos? Yes, it is the Unocal gas station near the entrance to Sea Cliff State Beach. They are the best gas station in Aptos because they have real mechanics that FIX cars.
Across the street from the Unocal gas station, thre used to be a large field. Low income housing built on one parcel. More low income housing comes soon. There is a sign saying that a park is coming. Dont hold your breath.
And in that field, across from the best gas station in Aptos, is where St.John’s Episcopal Church moves soon. Very soon.
Soon, St. John’s will knock on neighborhood doors. They will ask you a few questions. Such as: What do you like about the community? How can St. John’s as a church be a Good Neighbor? What hopes and dreams do you have for your community?
You can check out St. John’s web site at: http:www.sjlife.org
The Word Shop, Aptos
Good conversation, wide variety of Christian and other kinds of books including plenty of crap books. Staffed by volunteers. Been around more than 10 years. Located in Aptos near entrance to Sea Cliff State Beach. Need a book? They will find it for you. For more information go to: http://www.companyof saints.com
